Ursula K. Le Guin is one of those authors I have always meant to read. I have a copy of the Earthsea trilogy at home just waiting for me to pick up. But there are always more books and more authors and never enough time. When I saw Lavinia (Harcourt, $24), I knew the time had come for me to read Ms. Le Guin. Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres, and here Le Guin takes a character from Virgils Aeneid, the daughter of king Latinus. She is courted by Turnus, but the gods decree she should marry Aeneas, the wandering Trojan hero. A minor player in the epic poem, Lavinia here has a voice and a mind of her own. Its like Le Guin has taken a mysterious, intriguing background figure from an ancient fresco, then rearranged the tiles to make her its center. Next on my reading list, Im finally picking up the Earthsea trilogy. Elliott Bay Book Co., 101 S. Main St., 624-6600, www.elliottbaybook.com. Free. 7:30 p.m. (Also: University Book Store, 4326 University Way N.E., 634-3400, www.bookstore.washington.edu, 7 p.m. Wed. April 30; Eagle Harbor Books, 157 Winslow Way E., Bainbridge Island, 842-5332, www.eagleharborbooks.com, 7:30 p.m. Thurs. May 1.) BRENDA COOKE
Tue., April 29, 7:30 p.m., 2008
